New Delhi | 5 days ago
Reviving the Parsee Punch with new pickings
New Delhi, May 7 - Humour has been the golden lining of India's realpolitik for as long as one can remember. The early kings hired jesters; Mughal emperor Akbar had Birbal and, in the 19th century, quick-witted Indian writers picked up from the British bible of humour, Punch, to laugh like the white 'babus'.By the end of the 19th century, at least 70 Indian-style Punch-like papers and magazines ha ... read more

Patna | 18 days ago
Bihar pledges to preserve Orwell's birthplace - again
Patna, April 24 - Big brother should have been watching out for it. But legendary British author George Orwell's birthplace in Bihar's Motihari town has been lying neglected for decades with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar the latest to pledge that it would be preserved for posterity.The Bihar government will prepare a blueprint to turn the crumbling single-storey house in East Champaran's Motihari to ... read more

Colombo | 1 month ago
Sri Lankan economy registers record growth
Colombo, April 6 - The Sri Lankan economy recorded its highest post-independence growth of 8.3 percent last year beating the previous record of 8 percent in 2010, the Central Bank said Friday.In a statement following its monetary policy review meeting Thursday evening, the bank said the record growth in 2011 was boosted by increased contributions from the industry and services sectors. Sri Lanka a ... read more

New Delhi | 1 month ago
Seven more Tibetan protestors arrested
New Delhi, March 30 - Seven more Tibetan activists were arrested Friday outside the hotel where Chinese President Hu Jintao was staying, prompting Bharatiya Janata Party - leader Yashwant Sinha to call for a more humane police force.The arrests came an hour before Hu was supposed to leave central Delhi's Oberoi Hotel for Cambodia, his next stop after the BRICS summit in the capital, said a spokesp ... read more

Islamabad | 2 months ago
Attempt to usurp Pakistani gurdwara foiled
Islamabad, Feb 26 - An attempt to occupy an 18th century gurdwara in Pakistan's Punjab province has been foiled, a media report said Sunday.The police stepped in when a group of five women who claimed themselves as Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz - activists tried to occupy the 18th-century gurdwara in Sori Gali near Ghaa Mandi Saturday, reported Dawn.Their leader and former councillor, Romana Safdar ... read more

Mumbai | 3 months ago
Indian Railway tableau to showcase its history at R-Day parade
Mumbai, Jan 25 - Indian Railways will bring together its past and present through a tableau that will be showcased at the Republic Day Parade, a Central Railways official said here Wednesday.One of the popular trains of Indian Railways 'Punjab Mail' is the chosen theme of the tableau as it is the first train in the country to achieve the distinction, in recorded history, to enter the 100th year of ... read more

Agartala | 3 months ago
Hasina promises to make S.D. Burman's ancestral house a museum
Agartala, Jan 17 - Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has promised to convert the ancestral house of legendary music maestro Sachin Dev Burman in Bangladesh into a folk cultural institute-cum-museum, writers and scholars said here Tuesday.'Hasina assured us that her government would actively consider our proposal of converting the ancestral house of S.D. Burman at Comilla - into a folk cultur ... read more

Shimla | 4 months ago
Court summons Shimla officials on illegal parking
Shimla, Jan 11 - Irked over illegal parking of tourist vehicles in Shimla's auto-free zones on New Year's Eve, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has summoned top administrative and police officials.A division bench of Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Sanjay Karol directed Shimla's district magistrate and the superintendent of police to be present in court Friday with records regarding permissions gr ... read more

Shimla | 4 months ago
Shimla a pedestrian city, says court
Shimla, Jan 7 - Shimla, the erstwhile summer capital of the British Raj, is a pedestrian city and the walkers have the right to walk freely, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has observed.While making the observation, the court has frowned upon the Indian Army vehicles plying in the city, particularly on the restricted routes, without valid permits. The army has its offices located in the heart of t ... read more

Patna | 4 months ago
Bihar to conserve tree associated with Mahatma Gandhi
Patna, Jan 5 - An old neem tree, associated with Mahatma Gandhi and lying neglected in Bihar's East Champaran, would now be preserved and conserved under the government's plan to develop the district as a 'Gandhi Circuit' to attract tourists.Motihari legislator Krishnanand Paswan said the government has already sanctioned Rs.25 lakh to conserve the historical tree. 'As a first step, the area arou ... read more